Was at the bank getting some money for the weekend and the teller had a pile of 10 Ike Dollars sitting there and another $20 in halfs so I "bought" them: 1972-D (2) 1974-D (2) 1977-D (1) 1978-D (3) 1976 (2) Nothing special in the halves, mostly 1976 Bi's. Did get a 1988-D (low mintage). I've looked all over - Does anyone have any pictures to pose showing the difference between the Type 1 and Type 2 Bicentennial Design?
type one has fat letters on the reverse, and type 2 has skinny letters, at least for the proofs. I think there are 3 types for the bicentennial regular strikes. Please don't take this as gospel, at least until someone else confirms or denies my take.
You're right zane but also the serifs on the letters are different sizes.Here is the PCGS article that explains it all. http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article818.chtml I took a photo.type I 1975 on left,type II 1976 on right.(click image twice) The 1975's have the heavy block letters and the 1976's are slimmer with fancy ends.
You can tell from the front too. The '76 has a heavy crease from the middle of the truncation of the bust going up to the right at a 45 degree angle. It looks like a scratch almost. There are quite a few differences on both sides. I always look for mules on the ones in circulation but there are none reported. Don't bother with the mint sets. There are no mules in them.
There are only two major types of 1976 business strike Ike dollars. As others have mentioned, the easiest way to tell the difference is the lettering used for "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". On Type 1's the lettering is "fat", and on Type 2's the lettering is "skinny". The skin fold on Eisenhower's neck is an obverse diagnostic. Type 1: Type 2: Type 1 / Type 2:
I never knew about the different obverses and the folds on Ike's neck.Thanks for the GREAT PICS leadfoot!:thumb:
Help the neophyte ? I have rolls of circulated Bicentennial Ikes with the Liberty Bell and the moon on the reverse. I am not sure what to do with them. All of my coins show bimetal on the edge. I assume that means that I should just take them to the bank and make a deposit at $1 per coin ? These coins do not have additonal value for the silver content ? Also, I think that most of my Ikes are Type 2. Is it worth my time to sort through these circulated coins, searching for Type 1s ? Or is this distinction not important to the non-collector ? :bigeyes:
I always use the last S in STATES. That way I don't have to judge are the letters fat or skiny, and I don't need to have a second coin for comparison. That weird shaped S with a tail that extends almost halfway up the E is diagnostic from three feet away. You see that S it's a type I. Look at the S on the coins Leadfoot posted. The type I tail goes halfway up the E the type II it barely reaches th top of the bottom leg of the E and the S is MUCH more symmetrical.
